Multi-functional hemocompatible porous polymer bead sorbent for removing protein based toxins and potassium from biological fluids

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns biocompatible polymer systems comprising at least one polymer with a plurality of pores, said polymer comprising a sulfonic acid salt functionality designed to adsorb a broad range of protein based toxins from less than 0.5 kDa to 1,000 kDa and positively charged ions including but not limited to potassium.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to international patent application no. PCT/US2016/058019 which was filed Oct. 21, 2016 and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/245,071 filed on Oct. 22, 2015. The contents of each that application are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

GOVERNMENT RIGHTS

The subject matter disclosed herein was made with government support under contract number HHSN268201600006C, awarded by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The subject matter disclosed herein was also made with government support under contract number W81XWH-12-C-0038, awarded by The Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research (DOD-SBIR). The government has certain rights in the herein disclosed subject matter.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed inventions are in the field of porous polymeric sorbents. The disclosed inventions are also in the field of broadly reducing contaminants in blood and blood products that can cause transfusion reactions; including, but not limited to, potassium, free hemoglobin, cytokines, bioactive lipids, and immunoglobulins. Additionally, the disclosed inventions are in the field of broadly removing contaminants by perfusion or hemoperfusion after tissue destruction; including, but not limited to, potassium, free hemoglobin, free myoglobin, cytokines, bioactive lipids, and immunoglobulins.

BACKGROUND

Packed red blood cell (pRBC) units contain reactive donor antibodies, free hemoglobin, high extracellular potassium levels, and biologically active inflammatory mediators that have the potential to cause adverse effects during blood transfusions. Such adverse effects can include non-hemolytic febrile and allergic transfusion reactions, atypical infections, allo-immunization, and potentially fatal reactions, like transfusion related acute lung injury (TRALI). Furthermore, transfusion risk increases in patients receiving multiple pRBCs, such as those involved in trauma or undergoing surgery, and in primed susceptible patients, such as those in critical care or undergoing high-risk surgery.

The likelihood of adverse effects increases over time for stored blood or blood products, as concentrations of many biological response modifiers, such as potassium, free hemoglobin, and cytokines, increase with storage duration. Cytokines are produced by residual leukocytes during storage of platelets and pRBCs, and can cause inflammation, fever, and direct vascular and organ injury. Erythrocytes contain phosphatidyl choline, and cytosolic and membrane phospholipase A2, contributing increasing levels of lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) during storage. Structural and biochemical changes that RBCs undergo are described as “storage lesion” and lead to a progressive loss of hemoglobin, and potassium. Plasma free hemoglobin can rapidly overwhelm the scavenging capability of haptoglobin, resulting in oxidative damage to lipids, proteins, endothelial cells, tissues, and renal proximal tubules, and in depletion of nitric oxide (NO) upon transfusion. Increases in extracellular potassium during storage lead to an increased risk of hyperkalemia and arrhythmia, particularly for large volume or “massive” transfusions and transfusions in newborns and infants.

Hyperkalemia describes a condition in which the potassium level in the blood exceeds a concentration of 5 mEq/L, where concentrations exceeding 7 mEq/L are considered severe cases. The electrical rhythm of the heart can be altered by moderate hyperkalemia, while severe conditions may cause the heart to stop beating. In addition to blood transfusions, another major cause of hyperkalemia is tissue destruction that causes dying cells to release potassium into blood circulation. Tissue destruction typically results from trauma, burns, hemolysis, massive lysis of tumor cells, rhabdomyolysis, or major surgery, such as cardiac surgery or cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), where severe tissue destruction leads to more severe cases of hyperkalemia. In addition to the release of potassium into blood circulation, massive tissue injury is characterized by release of a large amount of myoglobin from damaged muscle tissue, plasma free hemoglobin from hemolyzed red blood cells, damage associated molecular pattern (DAMP) factors from damaged cells, and an upregulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines. Excessive free myoglobin, free hemoglobin, and other inflammatory mediators, can lead to complications such as renal failure or even death. Abnormal regulation of cytokines, or release of DAMPS, may lead to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and multi-organ dysfunction (MODs).

Currently, there are existing technologies for potassium removal, or antibody removal, from stored blood or blood products. Kawasumi Laboratories has developed a single-pass in-line potassium adsorption filter to reduce the risk of hyperkalemia and improve safety for blood transfusions. The filter functions by exchanging potassium ions (K⁺) for sodium ions (Na⁺) to decrease the concentration of K⁺ in stored RBC units. In an in-vitro study conducted by Yamada et. al, 10 filters were tested using each of three AS-3 RBC units via gravity filtration. The mean decrease in potassium was 97.5%, 91.2%, and 64.4% for the first, second, and third units, respectively. Accompanying the decrease in potassium were mean increases of sodium by 33%, magnesium by 151.4%, and total calcium by 116.1%. Plasma hemoglobin was unchanged after filtration.

A journal article published by Terai et. al., titled “Development of a Potassium-Specific Adsorbent for Direct Hemoperfusion”, describes a study assessing the development of a sodium/calcium/magnesium exchange resin mixture that removes potassium without associated electrolyte abnormalities. At the time the article was written, direct hemoperfusion over an exchange resin was capable of lowering elevated serum potassium levels, but had not been used clinically due to subsequent electrolyte abnormalities. Prior to evaluating the exchange resin in an in vivo model, batch experiments were conducted in vitro to identify an effective ratio of sodium to calcium to magnesium for the resin mixture. Results from the study demonstrated a reduction of elevated plasma potassium levels from about 6.7 to about 3.5 mEq/L in anephric dogs, without any significant change in levels of sodium, calcium, magnesium, albumin, total protein, or cholesterol, after 2 hours of direct hemoperfusion through an exchange resin column. Pre- and post-hemoperfusion platelet counts and plasma free hemoglobin levels were also measured, where post-hemoperfusion platelet counts were only about 45% of pre-hemoperfusion levels, and there was no significant change in plasma free hemoglobin levels.

Patent WO 2012118735 A2, entitled “Removal of immunoglobulins and leukocytes from biological fluids,” discloses devices, systems, and methods, for depleting biological fluids of immunoglobulins and leukocytes. It describes a system comprising immunoglobulin binding media and a leukocyte depletion filter element, where the binding media consist of cellulose beads and are placed into the pre-filtration blood bag. In one example, 30 g dry weight cellulose beads, (4-MEP) HyperCer™ chromatography sorbent (Pall Corporation), were placed in a blood bag to which a unit of 5 day old AS-3 RBC was added, and the blood bag mixed on a rotamixer. The RBCs were gravity filtered through a downstream filter, where beads were trapped in an immunoglobulin binding media chamber and filtered cells passed through a fibrous leukocyte depletion filter before being collected and analyzed. Leukocyte content was reduced by 5.17 log, IgA reduced by 81%, IgG by 98%, and IgM by 42%. In another example, the ability of the leukocyte filter to remove cytokines was examined. Two units of 22-30 day old ABO compatible red cell concentrate were pooled together and then split into two lots. The first was placed in a blood bag containing about 25-33 g dry weight cellulose beads, (4-MEP) HyperCer™ chromatography sorbent (Pall Corporation), with 10 mL PBS and mixed for 45 minutes, and the second passed through a BPF4 High Efficiency leukocyte depletion filter (Pall Corporation) via gravity filtration. Afterwards, both lots were analyzed and it was found that in the aliquot placed in contact with the beads, interleukin 1-Beta (IL-1β) was reduced by 45.7%, interleukin-6 (IL-6) by 26.9%, interleukin-8 (IL-8) by 57.1% and tissue necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) by 49.9% For the aliquot passed through the filter, IL-1β was not reduced, IL-6 was not reduced, IL-8 was reduced by 35.0% and TNF-α reduced by 7.5%

In a journal article by Silliman et. al., it was demonstrated that pre-storage filtration of packed RBCs removes HLA and HNA antibodies, reducing pro-inflammatory activity in RBC supernatant in an animal TRALI model. In the described study, plasma that contained antibodies to human lymphocyte antigen (HLA)-A2, or human neutrophil antigen (HNA)-3a, was filtered and priming activities of specific HNA-3a and HLA-2a were measured. OX27 antibodies were added to plasma and filtration was analyzed using a 2-event animal model for TRALI. RBC units from 31 donors, who were known to possess antibodies against HLA antigens, were filtered. In addition, 4 RBC units underwent standard leukoreduction. PMN priming activity, immunoglobulins, HLA antibodies, and ability to induce TRALI were measured. Filtration of the plasma was shown to remove more than 96% of IgG, and antibodies to HLA-A2 and HNA-3a, including their respective priming activity, and mitigated in vivo TRALI. Antibodies to HLA antigens were removed in experimental filtration of RBC units, accompanied by an inhibition of accumulation of lipid priming activity and lipid-mediated TRALI.

The sorbent material described herein is uniquely designed to efficiently remove free hemoglobin, antibodies, bioactive lipids, cytokines, and potassium, from blood and blood products. The polymer is multi-functional, retaining said biomolecules through tortuous path, sorption, pore capture, and ion exchange mechanisms. Novel chemistry is used to synthesize the polymer, utilizing a controlled sulfonation procedure that allows for the incorporation of sulfonic acid groups onto the aromatic rings without oxidizing all residual double bonds. This allows the polymeric matrix to maintain protein sorption and ion exchange capabilities, while still leaving residual functional groups available for hemocompatibility improvement modifications. The balance between sulfonation and retention of residual double bonds is crucial for preparation of an effective polymer sorbent.

Differentiating the multi-functional polymer from other filters that remove only reactive proteins or only potassium is its ability to remove both simultaneously without sacrificing binding capacity for either. Additionally, the sorbent is able to remove cytokines and inflammatory protein moieties simultaneously while removing potassium and antibodies. For hemoperfusion applications, it is a requirement that the polymer is hemocompatible. Using the unactivated partial thromboplastin time (uPTT) assay as a measure of thrombogenicity, the polymer described herein exhibits minimal activation, indicating a plasma-like interaction. This polymer is suited for a wide variety of applications, as many cases of trauma, burn, and major surgery, result in hyperkalemia, cytokine storm, and require blood transfusions. The ability to use one multi-application filter has many advantages over using many single-application filters. Given the value of blood and blood products, the use of a single, smaller filter that minimizes cell loss within the retained volume and reduces complexity of material quality assurance is very desirable.

SUMMARY

In some aspects, the invention concerns biocompatible polymer system comprising at least one polymer, said polymer comprising (i) a plurality of pores and (ii) a sulfonic acid salt functionality; the polymer system capable of adsorbing (i) a broad range of protein based toxins having a molecular weight of from less than about 0.5 kDa to about 1,000 kDa (or about 1 kDa to about 1,000 kDa in some embodiments) and (ii) positively charged ions. Some polymer systems have a polymer pore structure that has a total volume of pore sizes in the range of from 10 Å to 40,000 Å greater than 0.1 cc/g and less than 5.0 cc/g dry polymer. Some preferred polymers are hemocompatible. The polymer system has the form of a solid support. Certain preferred polymer systems have a geometry of a spherical bead. Other polymer systems have the form of a fiber, monolithic column, film, membrane, or semi-permeable membrane.

In some embodiments, the toxins adsorbed comprise one or more of inflammatory mediators and stimulators comprised of one or more of cytokines, superantigens, monokines, chemokines, interferons, proteases, enzymes, peptides including bradykinin, soluble CD40 ligand, bioactive lipids, oxidized lipids, cell-free hemoglobin, cell-free myoglobin, growth factors, glycoproteins, prions, toxins, bacterial and viral toxins, endotoxins, drugs, vasoactive substances, foreign antigens, antibodies, and positively charged ions. In some preferred embodiments, the positively charged ion is potassium.

The polymers can be made by any means known in the art to produce a suitable porous polymer. In some embodiments, the polymer is made using suspension polymerization. Some polymers comprise a hypercrosslinked polymer. Certain spherical beads have a biocompatible hydrogel coating. In certain embodiments, the polymer is in the form of hypercrosslinked or a macroreticular porous polymer beads that have been sulfonated under mild conditions that retain residual functionality of any unreacted double bonds and chloromethyl groups. The unreacted double bonds or chloromethyl groups can be modified via free radical or S_(N)2 type chemistry to attach one or more of biocompatible and hemocompatible monomers, cross-linkers or low molecular weight oligomers.

In some embodiments, the porous polymer beads comprise sulfonic acid groups or a salt thereof, sulfonyl chloride, or sulfonate ester groups. The polymer beads comprising sulfonic acid groups or a salt thereof, sulfonyl chloride, or sulfonate ester groups can be produced by graft copolymerization of (i) premade porous polymer that contains unreacted double bonds with (ii) polymerizable vinyl monomers containing sulfonic acid groups or a salt thereof to form a mixture comprising hemocompatible vinyl monomers.

Some polymer systems are constructed from polymerizable vinyl monomers containing sulfonic acid groups or a salt thereof which are copolymerized in the presence of cross-linker, hemocompatible monomer, monomer and suitable porogen to yield porous polymeric polymer containing a sulfonic acid salt functionality.

Certain polymers are formed and subsequently modified to be biocompatible. Some modifications comprise forming a biocompatible surface coating or layer.

Other aspects include methods of perfusion comprising passing a physiologic fluid once through or by way of a suitable extracorporeal circuit through a device comprising the biocompatible polymer system described herein.

Yet another aspect concerns devices for removing (i) a broad range of protein based toxins from less than 0.5 kDa to 1,000 kDa and (ii) positively charged ions from physiologic fluid comprising the biocompatible polymer system described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate aspects of the disclosure and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of the disclosure in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure and the various ways in which it may be practiced. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 present log differential pore volume plots for CY15100 and CY15102.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show plots of log differential pore volume for modified polymers.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show plots of log differential pore volume for polymers CY15048 and CY15049.

FIG. 9 presents the percentage of initial free hemoglobin removed during single-pass filtration, averaged from three trials

FIG. 10 displays pre- and post-filtration potassium ion concentration in blood, averaged from three trials.

FIG. 11 presents dynamic recirculation data for CY14144, averaged from 7 trials.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limits, but merely as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention. The specific examples below will enable the invention to be better understood. However, they are given merely by way of guidance and do not imply any limitation.

The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying figures and examples, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific materials, devices, methods, applications, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed invention. The term “plurality”, as used herein, means more than one. When a range of values is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. All ranges are inclusive and combinable.

It is to be appreciated that certain features of the invention which are, for clarity, described herein in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention that are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any subcombination. Further reference to values stated in ranges includes each and every value within that range.

The following definitions are intended to assist in understanding the present invention:

The term “biocompatible” is defined to mean the sorbent is capable of coming in contact with physiologic fluids, living tissues, or organisms, without producing unacceptable clinical changes during the time that the sorbent is in contact with the physiologic fluids, living tissues, or organisms.

The term “hemocompatible” is defined as a condition whereby a biocompatible material when placed in contact with whole blood or blood plasma results in clinically acceptable physiologic changes.

As used herein, the term “physiologic fluids” are liquids that originate from the body and can include, but are not limited to, nasopharyngeal, oral, esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, hepatic, pleural, pericardial, peritoneal, intestinal, prostatic, seminal, vaginal secretions, as well as tears, saliva, lung, or bronchial secretions, mucus, bile, blood, lymph, plasma, serum, synovial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, and interstitial, intracellular, and extracellular fluid, such as fluid that exudes from burns or wounds.

As used herein, the term “laboratory or manufacturing fluids” are defined as liquids that are used in life sciences applications that include, but are not limited to, tissue and cell culture media and additives, chemical or biologic assay media, sample preparation buffers, biologic manufacturing media, growth media, and bioreactor media.

As used herein, the term “sorbent” includes adsorbents and absorbents.

For purposes of this invention, the term “sorb” is defined as “taking up and binding by absorption and adsorption”.

For the purposes of this invention, the term “perfusion” is defined as passing a physiologic fluid, once through or by way of a suitable extracorporeal circuit, through a device containing the porous polymeric adsorbent to remove toxic molecules from the fluid.

The term “hemoperfusion” is a special case of perfusion where the physiologic fluid is blood.

The term “dispersant” or “dispersing agent” is defined as a substance that imparts a stabilizing effect upon a finely divided array of immiscible liquid droplets suspended in a fluidizing medium.

The term “heparin mimicking polymer” refers to any polymer that possesses the same anticoagulant and/or antithrombogenic properties as heparin.

The term “macroreticular synthesis” is defined as a polymerization of monomers into polymer in the presence of an inert precipitant which forces the growing polymer molecules out of the monomer liquid at a certain molecular size dictated by the phase equilibria to give solid nanosized microgel particles of spherical or almost spherical symmetry packed together to give a bead with physical pores of an open cell structure [U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,220, Meitzner and Oline, Oct. 27, 1981; R. L. Albright, Reactive Polymers, 4, 155-174(1986)].

The term “hypercrosslinked” describes a polymer in which the single repeating unit has a connectivity of more than two. Hypercrosslinked polymers are prepared by crosslinking swollen, or dissolved, polymer chains with a large number of rigid bridging spacers, rather than copolymerization of monomers. Crosslinking agents may include bis(chloromethyl) derivatives of aromatic hydrocarbons, methylal, monochlorodimethyl ether, and other bifunctional compounds that react with the polymer in the presence of Friedel-Crafts catalysts [Tsyurupa, M. P., Z. K. Blinnikova, N. A. Proskurina, A. V. Pastukhov, L. A. Pavlova, and V. A. Davankov. “Hypercrosslinked Polystyrene: The First Nanoporous Polymeric Material.” Nanotechnologies in Russia 4 (2009): 665-75.]

Some preferred polymers comprise residues from one or more monomers, or containing monomers, or mixtures thereof, selected from acrylonitrile, allyl ether, allyl glycidyl ether, butyl acrylate, butyl methacrylate, cetyl acrylate, cetyl methacrylate, 3,4-dihydroxy-1-butene, dipentaerythritol diacrylate, dipentaerythritol dimethacrylate, dipentaerythritol tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol tetramethacrylate, dipentaerythritol triacrylate, dipentaerythritol trimethacrylate, divinylbenzene, divinylformamide, divinylnaphthalene, divinylsulfone, 3,4-epoxy-1-butene, 1,2-epoxy-9-decene, 1,2-epoxy-5-hexene, ethyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, ethylstyrene, ethylvinylbezene, glycidyl methacrylate, methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, octyl acrylate, octyl methacrylate, pentaerythritol diacrylate, pentaerythritol dimethacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, pentaerythritol tetramethacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, pentaerythritol trimethacrylate, styrene, trimethylolpropane diacrylate, trimethylolpropane dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, trivinylbenzene, trivinylcyclohexane, vinyl acetate, vinylbenzyl alcohol, 4-vinyl-1-cyclohexene 1,2-epoxide, vinylformamide, vinylnaphthalene, 2-vinyloxirane, and vinyltoluene.

Some embodiments of the invention use an organic solvent and/or polymeric porogen as the porogen or pore-former, and the resulting phase separation induced during polymerization yield porous polymers. Some preferred porogens are selected from, or mixtures comprised of any combination of, benzyl alcohol, cyclohexane, cyclohexanol, cyclohexanone, decane, dibutyl phthalate, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, di-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid, ethylacetate, 2-ethyl-1-hexanoic acid, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, n-heptane, n-hexane, isoamyl acetate, isoamyl alcohol, n-octane, pentanol, poly(propylene glycol), polystyrene, poly(styrene-co-methyl methacrylate), tetraline, toluene, tri-n-butylphosphate, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, xylene.

In yet another embodiment, the dispersing agent is selected from a group consisting of hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, poly(diethylaminoethyl acrylate), poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate), poly(dimethylaminoethyl acrylate), poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate), poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl acrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl alcohol), salts of poly(acrylic acid), salts of poly(methacrylic acid) and mixtures thereof.

Preferred sorbents are biocompatible. In another further embodiment, the polymer is biocompatible. In yet another embodiment, the polymer is hemocompatible. In still a further embodiment, the biocompatible polymer is hemocompatible. In still a further embodiment, the geometry of the polymer is a spherical bead.

In another embodiment, the biocompatible polymer comprises poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone).

The coating/dispersant on the porous poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) resin will imbue the material with improved biocompatibility.

In still yet another embodiment, a group of cross-linkers consisting of dipentaerythritol diacrylates, dipentaerythritol dimethacrylates, dipentaerythritol tetraacrylates, dipentaerythritol tetramethacrylates, dipentaerythritol triacrylates, dipentaerythritol trimethacrylates, divinylbenzene, divinylformamide, divinylnaphthalene, divinylsulfone, pentaerythritol diacrylates, pentaerythritol dimethacrylates, pentaerythritol tetraacrylates, pentaerythritol tetramethacrylates, pentaerythritol triacrylates, pentaerythritol trimethacrylates, trimethylolpropane diacrylate, trimethylolpropane dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, trivinylbenzene, trivinylcyclohexane and mixtures thereof can be used in formation of a hemocompatible hydrogel coating.

In some embodiments, the polymer is a polymer comprising at least one crosslinking agent and at least one dispersing agent. The dispersing agent may be biocompatible. The dispersing agents can be selected from chemicals, compounds or materials such as hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, poly(diethylaminoethyl acrylate), poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate), poly(dimethylaminoethyl acrylate), poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate), poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl acrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl alcohol), salts of poly(acrylic acid), salts of poly(methacrylic acid) and mixtures thereof the crosslinking agent selected from a group consisting of dipentaerythritol diacrylates, dipentaerythritol dimethacrylates, dipentaerythritol tetraacrylates, dipentaerythritol tetramethacrylates, dipentaerythritol triacrylates, dipentaerythritol trimethacrylates, divinylbenzene, divinylformamide, divinylnaphthalene, divinyl sulfone, pentaerythritol diacrylates, pentaerythritol dimethacrylates, pentaerythritol tetraacrylates, pentaerythritol tetramethacrylates, pentaerythritol triacrylates, pentaerythritol trimethacrylates, trimethylolpropane diacrylate, trimethylolpropane dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, trivinylbenzene, trivinylcyclohexane and mixtures thereof. Preferably, the polymer is developed simultaneously with the formation of the coating, wherein the dispersing agent is chemically bound or entangled on the surface of the polymer.

In still another embodiment, the biocompatible polymer coating is selected from a group consisting of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate), poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate), salts of poly(acrylic acid), salts of poly(methacrylic acid), poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl acrylate), poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone), poly(vinyl alcohol) and mixtures thereof. In another embodiment, the salts may be sodium and potassium salts and in still another embodiment, the salts are water-soluble salts.

In still another embodiment, the biocompatible oligomer coating is selected from a group consisting of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate), poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate), salts of poly(acrylic acid), salts of poly(methacrylic acid), poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl acrylate), poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone), poly(vinyl alcohol) and mixtures thereof. In another embodiment, the salts may be sodium and potassium salts and in still another embodiment, the salts are water-soluble salts.

The present biocompatible sorbent compositions are comprised of a plurality of pores. The biocompatible sorbents are designed to adsorb a broad range of toxins from less than 0.5 kDa to 1,000 kDa. While not intending to be bound by theory, it is believed the sorbent acts by sequestering molecules of a predetermined molecular weight within the pores. The size of a molecule that can be sorbed by the polymer will increase as the pore size of the polymer increases. Conversely, as the pore size is increased beyond the optimum pore size for adsorption of a given molecule, adsorption of said protein may or will decrease.

In certain methods, the solid form is porous. Some solid forms are characterized as having a pore structure having a total volume of pore sizes in the range of from 10 Å to 40,000 Å greater than 0.1 cc/g and less than 5.0 cc/g dry polymer.

In certain embodiments, the polymers can be made in bead form having a diameter in the range of 0.1 micrometers to 2 centimeters. Certain polymers are in the form of powder, beads or other regular or irregularly shaped particulates.

In some embodiments, the plurality of solid forms comprises particles having a diameter in the range for 0.1 micrometers to 2 centimeters.

In some methods, the undesirable molecules are inflammatory mediators and stimulators comprised of cytokines, superantigens, monokines, chemokines, interferons, proteases, enzymes, peptides including bradykinin, soluble CD40 ligand, bioactive lipids, oxidized lipids, cell-free hemoglobin, damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMPs), Pathogen-associated molecular pattern molecules (PAMPs), cell-free myoglobin, growth factors, glycoproteins, prions, toxins, bacterial and viral toxins, endotoxins, drugs, vasoactive substances, foreign antigens, antibodies, and positively charged ions, including, but not limited to, potassium.

In some methods, the antibodies can be immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin D (IgD), immunoglobulin E (IgE), immunoglobulin D (IgG), immunoglobulin D (IgM) and/or immunoglobulin fragments or subunits.

DAMPs have been associated with countless syndromes and diseases. These include complications from trauma, burns, traumatic brain injury and invasive surgery, and also organ-specific illnesses like liver disease, kidney dialysis complications, and autoimmune diseases. DAMPs are host molecules that can initiate and perpetuate noninfectious SIRS and exacerbate infectious SIRS. DAMPs are a diverse family of molecules that are intracellular in physiological conditions and many are nuclear or cytosolic proteins. DAMPs can be divided into two groups: (1) molecules that perform noninflammatory functions in living cells (such as HMGB1) and acquire immunomodulatory properties when released, secreted, modified, or exposed on the cell surface during cellular stress, damage, or injury, or (2) alarmins, i.e., molecules that possess cytokine-like functions (such as β-Defensins and Cathelicidin), which can be stored in cells and released upon cell lysis, whereupon they contribute to the inflammatory response. When released outside the cell or exposed on the surface of the cell following tissue injury, they move from a reducing to an oxidizing milieu, which affects their activity. Also, following necrosis, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA fragments are released outside the cell becoming DAMPs.

DAMPs, such as HMGB-1, heat-shock and S100 proteins are normally found inside cells and are released by tissue damage. DAMPs act as endogenous danger signals to promote and exacerbate the inflammatory response. HMGB-1 is a non-histone nuclear protein that is released under stress conditions. Extracellular HMGB-1 is an indicator of tissue necrosis and has been associated with an increased risk of sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). S100 A8 (granulin A, MRP8) and A9 (granulin B\, MRP14) homo and heterodimers bind to and signal directly via the TLR4/lipopolysaccharide receptor complex where they become danger signals that activate immune cells and vascular endothelium. Procalcitonin is a marker of severe sepsis caused by bacteria and its release into circulation is indicative of the degree of sepsis. Serum amyloid A (SAA), an acute-phase protein, is produced predominantly by hepatocytes in response to injury, infection, and inflammation. During acute inflammation, serum SAA levels may rise by 1000-fold. SAA is chemotactic for neutrophils and induces the production of proinflammatory cytokines. Heat shock proteins (HSP) are a family of proteins that are produced by cells in response to exposure to stressful conditions and are named according to their molecular weight (10, 20-30, 40, 60, 70, 90). The small 8-kilodalton protein ubiquitin, which marks proteins for degradation, also has features of a heat shock protein. Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF), despite its name, is a protein expressed by neurons. HDGF can be released actively by neurons via a nonclassical pathway and passively by necrotic cells. Other factors, such as complement factors 3 and 5, are activated as part of the host defense against pathogens but can also contribute to the adverse outcomes in sepsis. Excessive, persistent circulating levels of cytokines and DAMPs contribute to organ injury and identify those patients who have the highest risk of multiple organ dysfunction (MODs) and death in community acquired pneumonia and sepsis.

PAMPs include lipopolysaccharides, lipopeptides, lipoteichoic acid, peptidoglycans, nucleic acids such as double-stranded RNA, toxins and flagellins nd can trigger an immune response in the host (e.g. the innate immune system) to fight the infection, leading to the production of high levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines. PAMPs and high cytokine levels, as well as direct tissue injury (trauma, burns, etc.), can damage tissue, causing the extracellular release of damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMPs) molecules into the bloodstream. DAMPs are a broad class of endogenous molecules, which like PAMPs, trigger the immune response through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs).

Preferred sorbents include cross-linked polymeric material derived from the reaction of a cross-linker with one or more of the following polymerizable monomers, then subsequently sulfonated to form a sulfonic acid salt: acrylonitrile, butyl acrylate, butyl methacrylate, cetyl acrylate, cetyl methacrylate, divinylbenzene, ethyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, ethylstyrene, methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, octyl acrylate, octyl methacrylate, styrene, vinylbenzyl alcohol, vinylformamide, vinylnaphthalene, or vinyltoluene.

In some embodiments, radically polymerizable vinyl monomers containing ˜SO₃Na groups, or ˜SO₃H groups, can be used in graft copolymerization with porous polymers containing polymerizable double bonds. These monomers can be selected from 4-styrene sulfonic acid sodium salt, vinyl sulfonic acid sodium salt, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic sodium salt, 3-sulfopropyl acrylate sodium salt, 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate sodium salt, [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide, N-(3-sulfopropyl)-N-(methacryl oxy ethyl)-N,N-dimethyl ammonium betaine, para-styrene sulfonyl chloride, or any combinations thereof. Furthermore, para-styrene sulfonyl chloride can be polymerized in the presence of divinylbenzene and hydrolyzed with sodium hydroxide solution to directly yield poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) porous material with ˜SO₃Na groups.

In another embodiment, the present invention relates to a sulfonated polymer comprised of at least one crosslinking agent for making the polymer and at least one dispersing agent whereby the dispersing agent forms a biocompatible surface on the polymer.

In one embodiment the porous polymers of this invention are made by suspension polymerization in a formulated aqueous phase with free radical initiation in the presence of aqueous phase dispersants that are selected to provide a biocompatible and a hemocompatible exterior surface to the formed polymer beads. The sulfonation of the resultant beads yields an ion exchange resin coated with a hemocompatible hydrogel. The beads are made porous by the macroreticular synthesis with an appropriately selected porogen (pore forming agent) and an appropriate time-temperature profile for the polymerization in order to develop the proper pore structure. The subsequent introduction of the sulfonic acid groups in the already formed network forms a sulfonic acid salt inner core (ion exchange resin) and a hemocompatible outer hydrogel exterior. Suitable choice of the reaction conditions for the sulfonation allows preservation or expression (via a protecting group) of the hemocompatible nature of the exterior hydrogel.

In another embodiment polymers made by suspension polymerization can be made biocompatible and hemocompatible by further grafting of biocompatible and hemocompatible monomers or low molecular weight oligomers. It has been shown that the radical polymerization procedure does not consume all the vinyl groups of DVB introduced into copolymerization. On average, about 30% of DVB species fail to serve as crosslinking bridges and remain involved in the network by only one of two vinyl groups. The presence of a relatively high amount of pendant vinyl groups is therefore a characteristic feature of the macroporous adsorbents. It can be expected that these pendant vinyl groups are preferably exposed to the surface of the polymer beads and their macropores should be readily available to chemical modification. The chemical modification of the surface of macroporous DVB-copolymers relies on chemical reactions of the surface-exposed pendant vinyl groups and aims at converting these groups into more hydrophilic functional groups. This conversion via free radical grafting of monomers and/or cross-linkers or low molecular weight oligomers provides the initial hydrophobic adsorbing material with the property of hemocompatibility. The subsequent introduction of the sulfonic acid groups into the already formed network forms a sulfonic acid salt inner core (ion exchange resin) and a hemocompatible outer hydrogel exterior. Suitable choice of the reaction conditions for the sulfonation allows preservation or expression (via a protecting group) of the hemocompatible nature of the exterior hydrogel.

Still another embodiment consists of binding long hydrophilic polymer chains onto the beads' surfaces, which should preclude contact between blood cells and the sulfonated polystyrene surface. This can be accomplished via free radical or S_(N)2 type chemistry. The chemical modification of the surface of sorbent beads, which is the case in the above modification, is facilitated by the remarkable peculiarity of the hypercrosslinked polystyrene; namely, that the reactive functional groups of the polymer are predominantly located on its surface. The hypercrosslinked polystyrene is generally prepared by crosslinking polystyrene chains with large amounts of bifunctional compounds, in particular, those bearing two reactive chloromethyl groups. The latter alkylate, in a two-step reaction, two phenyl groups of neighboring polystyrene chains according to Friedel-Crafts reaction, with evolution of two molecules of HCl and formation of a cross bridge. During the crosslinking reaction, the three-dimensional network formed acquires rigidity. This property gradually reduces the rate of the second step of the crosslinking reaction, since the reduced mobility of the second pendant functional group of the initial crosslinking reagent makes it more and more difficult to add an appropriate second partner for the alkylation reaction. This is especially characteristic of the second functional groups that happen to be exposed to the surface of the bead. Therefore, of the pendant unreacted chloromethyl groups in the final hypercrosslinked polymer, the largest portion, if not the majority of the groups, are located on the surface of the bead (or on the surface of large pores). This circumstance makes it possible to predominantly modify the surface of the polymer beads by involving the above chloromethyl groups into various chemical reactions that allow attachment of biocompatible and hemocompatible monomers, and/or cross-linkers or low molecular weight oligomers. The subsequent introduction of the sulfonic acid groups in the already formed network forms a sulfonic acid salt inner core (ion exchange resin) and a hemocompatible outer hydrogel exterior. Suitable choice of the reaction conditions for the sulfonation allows preservation or expression (via a protecting group) of the hemocompatible nature of the exterior hydrogel.

In yet another embodiment, the radical polymerization initiator is initially added to the dispersed organic phase, not the aqueous dispersion medium as is typical in suspension polymerization. During polymerization, many growing polymer chains with their chain-end radicals show up at the phase interface and can initiate the polymerization in the dispersion medium. Moreover, the radical initiator, like benzoyl peroxide, generates radicals relatively slowly. This initiator is only partially consumed during the formation of beads even after several hours of polymerization. This initiator easily moves toward the surface of the bead and activates the surface exposed pendant vinyl groups of the divinylbenzene moiety of the bead, thus initiating the graft: polymerization of other monomers added after the reaction has proceeded for a period of time. Therefore, free-radical grafting can occur during the transformation of the monomer droplets into polymer beads thereby incorporating monomers and/or cross-linkers or low molecular weight oligomers that impart biocompatibility or hemocompatibility as a surface coating. The subsequent introduction of the sulfonic acid groups in the already formed network forms a sulfonic acid salt inner core (ion exchange resin) and a hemocompatible outer hydrogel exterior. Suitable choice of the reaction conditions for the sulfonation allows preservation or expression (via a protecting group) of the hemocompatible nature of the exterior hydrogel.

In still yet another embodiment, hypercrosslinked or macroreticular porous polymer beads (including commercial versions) that have been sulfonated under mild conditions that retain residual functionality such as unreacted double bonds or chloromethyl groups can be modified via free radical or S_(N)2 type chemistry which would allow attachment of biocompatible and a hemocompatible monomers, and/or cross-linkers or low molecular weight oligomers. Among various “mild” sulfonating agents, Acetyl Sulfate (prepared from 98% conc. Sulfuric acid and acetic anhydride at low temperatures) is known to be very efficient for DVB or Styrene based polymeric materials. Sulfonation is usually done at 50° C. for several hours using equimolar amounts of acetyl sulfate and DVB or styrene based polymers. Sulfonation occurs mainly at the benzene ring and unreacted double bonds (in DVB based cross-linked polymeric porous beads) would be preserved for further functionalization. Usually after sulfonation with acetyl sulfate, the polymer is converted into —SO₃Na form and can be graft copolymerized with N-vinyl pyrrolidone or other hemocompatible monomers and/or cross-linkers or low molecular weight oligomers (in bulk with benzoyl peroxide as initiator) or in water solutions (using sodium persulfate initiator). Resulting sulfonated polymer is “coated” with poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone), as an example, to create a hemocompatible material capable of removing K⁺ cations from physiological fluids.

Some embodiments of the invention involve direct synthesis of porous polymeric beads containing —SO₃Na groups. Any polymerizable vinyl monomer containing —SO₃Na (or —SO₃H) groups can be polymerized in the presence of cross-linker monomer (like DVB, bis-acrylamide, bis-(meth)acrylates, etc.) and suitable porogen to yield porous polymeric beads containing above mentioned functionalities (—SO₃Na or SO₃H). Vinyl monomers containing SO₃Na or SO₃H groups can also be copolymerized with hemocompatible monomer (NVP. 2-HEMA, etc.) in presence of porogen to yield hemocompatible porous beads containing —SO₃Na groups.

Another embodiment of the invention involves making porous polymer beads containing SO₃Na groups via graft copolymerization of premade porous polymers (containing double bonds unreacted) with polymerizable vinyl monomers containing —SO₃Na or —SO₃H groups (with the mixture of suitable hemocompatible vinyl monomers). Such monomers can be vinyl sulfonic acid Na salt, 4-styrene sulfonic acid Na salt, etc.

The hemoperfusion and perfusion devices consist of a packed bead bed of the porous polymer beads in a flow-through container fitted with either a retainer screen at both the exit end and the entrance end to maintain the bead bed inside the container or with a subsequent retainer screen to collect the beads after mixing. The hemoperfusion and perfusion operations are performed by passing the whole blood, blood plasma or physiologic fluid through the packed bead bed. During the perfusion through the bead bed, the toxic molecules are retained by sorption, torturous path, and/or ion exchange mechanism the while the remainder of the fluid and intact cell components pass through essentially unchanged in concentration.

In some other embodiments, an in-line filter is comprised of a packed bead bed of the porous polymer beads in a flow-through container, fitted with a retainer screen at both the exit end and the entrance end to maintain the bead bed inside the container. pRBCs are passed from a storage bag once-through the packed bead bed via gravity, during which the toxic molecules are retained by sorption, torturous path, and/or ion exchange mechanisms, while the remainder of the fluid and intact cell components pass through essentially unchanged in concentration.

Certain polymers useful in the invention (as is or after further modification) are macroporous polymers prepared from the polymerizable monomers of styrene, divinylbenzene, ethylvinylbenzene, and the acrylate and methacrylate monomers such as those listed below by manufacturer. Rohm and Haas Company, (now part of Dow Chemical Company): macroporous polymeric sorbents such as Amberlite™ XAD-1, Amberlite™ XAD-2, Amberlite™ XAD-4, Amberlite™ XAD-7, Amberlite™ XAD-7HP, Amberlite™ XAD-8, Amberlite™ XAD-16, Amberlite™ XAD-16 HP, Amberlite™ XAD-18, Amberlite™ XAD-200, Amberlite™ XAD-1180, Amberlite™ XAD-2000, Amberlite™ XAD-2005, Amberlite™ XAD-2010, Amberlite™ XAD-761, and Amberlite™ XE-305, and chromatographic grade sorbents such as Amberchrom™ CG 71,s,m,c, Amberchrom™ CG 161,s,m,c, Amberchrom™ CG 300,s,m,c, and Amberchrom™ CG 1000,s,m,c. Dow Chemical Company: Dowex™ Optipore™ L-493, Dowex™ Optipore™ V-493, Dowex™ Optipore™ V-502, Dowex™ Optipore™ L-285, Dowex™ Optipore™ L-323, and Dowex™ Optipore™ V-503. Lanxess (formerly Bayer and Sybron): Lewatit™ VPOC 1064 MD PH, Lewatit™ VPOC 1163, Lewatit™ OC EP 63, Lewatit™ S 6328A, Lewatit™ OC 1066, and Lewatit™ 60/150 MIBK. Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation: Diaion™ HP 10, Diaion™ HP 20, Diaion™ HP 21, Diaion™ HP 30, Diaion™ HP 40, Diaion™ HP 50, Diaion™ SP70, Diaion™ SP 205, Diaion™ SP 206, Diaion™ SP 207, Diaion™ SP 700, Diaion™ SP 800, Diaion™ SP 825, Diaion™ SP 850, Diaion™ SP 875, Diaion™ HP 1MG, Diaion™ HP 2MG, Diaion™ CHP 55A, Diaion™ CHP 55Y, Diaion™ CHP 20A, Diaion™ CHP 20Y, Diaion™ CHP 2MGY, Diaion™ CHP 20P, Diaion™ HP 20SS, Diaion™ SP 20SS, Diaion™ SP 207SS. Purolite Company: Purosorb™ AP 250 and Purosorb™ AP 400, and Kaneka Corp. Lixelle beads.

Various proteins may be adsorbed by the composition of the instant disclosure. Some of these proteins and their molecular weights are shown in the table below.

Molecular Protein Weight (Da) PAF (Platelet Activating Factor) 524 bilirubin 548.6 heme b 616.5 MIP-1alpha 8,000 Complement C5a 8,200 Complement C3a 9,089 IL-8 9,000 S100B (dimerizes) 10,000 β-2 microglobulin 11,800 Procalcitonin 13,000 Phospholipase A2, secretory PLA2 type I 14,000 pancreatic PLA2G2A 16,083 IL-7 17,400 Myoglobin 17,699 Trypsin-human pancreas 23,300 IL-6 23,718 Toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1 24,000 Enterotoxin B, S aureus 24,500 HMGB1 24,894 Interferon gamma 25,000 Chymotrypsin 25,000 Elastase (neutrophil) 25,000 Trypsin 26,488 PF4 27,100 Enterotoxin A, S. aureus 27,800 alpha toxin A&B, S. aureus 28,000 PCNA, proliferating cell nuclear antigen 29,000 Arginse I 35,000 Carboxypeptidase A 35,000 Thrombin 36,700 alpha-1 antitrypsin 44,324 TNF-alpha 52,000 Activated Protein C 56,200 Amylase 57,000 hemopexin 57,000 alpha-1 antichymotrypsin 55,000-68,000 Diptheria toxoid 62,000 hemoglobin, oxy 64,000 Pseudomonas Exotoxin A 66,000 ShigaToxin (A 32 kDa, 5 × B 7.7 kDa) 69,000 Calpain-1 (human erythrocytes) 112,00 C reactive Protein (5 × 25 kDa) 115,000 Myeloperoxidase (neutrophils) 150,000 Immunoglobulin G IgG 150,000 NOS synthase 150,000 Immunoglobulin A IgA 162,000 Immunoglobulin E (IgE) 190,000 Immunoglobulin M IgM 950,000

The following examples are intended to be exemplary and non-limiting.

Example 1: Base Sorbent Synthesis CY12004, CY15042, CY15044, CY15045, and CY15077

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

Reactor Setup; a 4-neck glass lid was affixed to a 3000 mL jacketed cylindrical glass reaction vessel using a stainless steel flange clamp and PFTE gasket. The lid was fitted with a PFTE stirrer bearing, RTD probe adapter, and water-cooled reflux condenser. A stainless steel stirring shaft having five 45° agitators was fit through the stirrer bearing and inserted into a digital overhead stirrer. An RTD probe was fit through the corresponding adapter, and connected to a PolyStat circulating heating and chilling unit. Compatible tubing was used to connect the inlet and outlet of the reaction vessel jacket to the appropriate ports on the PolyStat. The unused port in the lid was used for charging the reactor and was plugged at all other times.

Polymerization; Aqueous phase and organic phase compositions are shown below, in Table I and Table II, respectively. Ultrapure water was split into approximately equal parts in two separate Erlenmeyer flasks each containing a PFTE coated magnetic stir bar. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), having a degree of hydrolysis of 85.0 to 89.0 mol percent and a viscosity of 23.0 to 27.0 cP in a 4% aqueous solution at 20° C., was dispersed into the water in the first flask and heated to 80° C. on a hot plate with agitation. Salts (see Table 1, MSP, DSP, TSP and Sodium nitrite) were dispersed into the water in the second flask and heated to 80° C. on a hot plate with agitation. Circulation of heat transfer fluid from the PolyStat through the reaction vessel jacket was started, and fluid temperature heated to 60° C. Once PVA and salts dissolved, both solutions were charged to the reactor, one at a time, using a glass funnel. The digital overhead stirrer was powered on and the rpm set to a value to form appropriate droplet sizes upon organic phase addition. Temperature of the aqueous phase in the kettle was set to 70° C. The organic phase was prepared by adding benzoyl peroxide (BPO) to the divinylbenzene (DVB) and styrene in a 2 L Erlenmeyer flask and swirling until completely dissolved. 2,2,4-trimethylpentane and toluene were added to the flask, which was swirled to mix well. Once the temperature of the aqueous phase in the reactor reached 70° C., the organic phase was charged into the reactor using a narrow-necked glass funnel. Temperature of the reaction volume dropped upon the organic addition. A temperature program for the PolyStat was started, heating the reaction volume from 60 to 77° C. over 30 minutes, 77 to 80° C. over 30 minutes, holding the temperature at 80° C. for 960 minutes, and cooling to 20° C. over 60 minutes. 1-Vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone (VP) was added dropwise via glass separatory funnel once the reaction reached identity point, approximately one hour after the reaction temperature reached 80° C. Note: the temperature program for preparation of polymer CY15042 was different, proceeding as follows; reaction volume heated from 55 to 62° C. over 30 minutes, 62 to 65° C. over 30 minutes, held at 65° C. for 1320 minutes, heated from 65 to 82° C. over 30 minutes, 82 to 85° C. over 30 minutes, held at 85° C. for 60 minutes, then cooled to 20° C. over 60 minutes.

TABLE I Aqueous Phase Composition Reagent Mass (g) Ultrapure water 1500.000 Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) 4.448 Monosodium phosphate (MSP) 4.602 Disodium phosphate (DSP) 15.339 Trisodium phosphate (TSP) 9.510 Sodium nitrite 0.046 Total 1533.899

TABLE II Organic Phase Compositions CY12004 CY15042 CY15044 CY15045 CY15077 Reagent Mass (g) Mass (g) Mass (g) Mass (g) Mass (g) Divinylbenzene, 63% (DVB) 508.751 451.591 386.284 386.284 498.383 Styrene 0.000 0.00 374.118 374.118 0.000 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (Isooctane) 384.815 125.800 271.210 271.210 482.745 Toluene 335.004 712.869 235.725 235.725 222.404 Benzoyl peroxide, 98% (BPO) 3.816 18.432 5.703 5.703 3.738 1-Vinyl-2-pyrrolidinone (VP) 151.578 0.000 0.000 167.288 0.000 Total (excluding BPO and VP) 1228.571 1290.260 1267.337 1267.337 1203.532

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

Work-up; reaction volume level in the reactor was marked. Overhead stirrer agitation was stopped, residual liquid siphoned out of the reactor, and the reactor filled to the mark with ultrapure water at room temperature. Overhead stirrer agitation was restarted and the slurry heated to 70° C. as quickly as possible. After 30 minutes, agitation was stopped and residual liquid siphoned out. Polymer beads were washed five times in this manner. During the final wash, the slurry temperature was cooled to room temperature. After the final water wash, polymer beads were washed with 99% isopropyl alcohol (IPA) in the same manner. 99% IPA was siphoned out and replaced with 70% IPA before transferring the slurry into a clean 4 L glass container. Unless noted otherwise, on an as-needed basis the polymer was steam stripped in a stainless steel tube for 8 hours, rewet in 70% IPA, transferred into DI water, sieved to obtain only the portion of beads having diameters between 300 and 600 μm, and dried at 100° C. until no further weight loss on drying was observed.

Cumulative pore volume data, measured by nitrogen desorption isotherm, for polymers CY12004, CY15042, CY15044, and CY15045, are presented below, in Tables III, IV, V, and VI, respectively. Cumulative pore volume data, measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry, for polymer CY15077 is presented in Table VII, below.

TABLE III Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY12004 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 1221.6-868.1  985.2149834 0.009113091 868.1-751.9 801.4105771 0.019081821 751.9-661.5 700.749642 0.032021618 661.5-613.5 635.6650389 0.048206769 613.5-568.5 589.2088599 0.067981224 568.5-509.8 535.8385194 0.114704165 509.8-456.1 479.8625277 0.214714265 456.1-418.7 435.7117054 0.311269356 418.7-374.6 394.0534583 0.455991378 374.6-330.2 349.456374 0.579735461 330.2-319.6 324.7147611 0.612988132 319.6-281.8 298.1620033 0.708072633 281.8-273.9 277.7142728 0.73291244 273.9-256.6 264.6494358 0.777049805 256.6-237.0 245.9517985 0.830089884 237.0-225.7 231.0229263 0.857298007 225.7-215.6 220.375968 0.88145223 215.6-145.5 166.3375231 1.066971104 145.5-104.6 117.8539174 1.181204175 104.6-84.4  92.0541661 1.241569291 84.4-71.4 76.67121175 1.285618005 71.4-60.9 65.20679768 1.326059561 60.9-52.7 56.07123392 1.360787093 52.7-46.5 49.12518253 1.389258246 46.5-41.3 43.53851295 1.416541075 41.3-37.1 38.91936166 1.445235862

TABLE IV Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY15042 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 2011.0-633.1  751.380276 0.003621266 633.1-424.8 488.0919378 0.006317461 424.8-418.5 421.593936 0.006912678 418.5-353.5 380.29179 0.008267096 353.5-280.4 308.2300243 0.011094129 280.4-275.4 277.8814342 0.01168737 275.4-249.5 261.1230419 0.012721633 249.5-209.1 225.543664 0.015611261 209.1-206.8 207.9070897 0.016388077 206.8-137.5 157.790999 0.442556595 137.5-98.1  110.7933773 0.765560391 98.1-81.8 88.28728758 0.845836735 81.8-67.3 72.96250925 0.911182647 67.3-57.7 61.63744463 0.954008444 57.7-50.3 53.43111186 0.983515641 50.3-44.4 46.93705679 1.010486042 44.4-38.6 41.02620024 1.037817277 38.6-34.5 36.30857144 1.058861412 34.5-30.9 32.48566551 1.08400665 30.9-27.3 28.85395017 1.10131894 27.3-24.3 25.59611525 1.12576046 24.3-22.3 23.18199338 1.143118464 22.3-19.6 20.72009386 1.167009752 19.6-17.4 18.32182238 1.190109864

TABLE V Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY15044 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 2529.6-789.0  936.1742201 1.75877E−06 789.0-446.0 526.203721 0.000135623 446.0-219.6 260.7379647 0.002068559 219.6-213.4 216.3756282 0.004663144 213.4-205.7 209.3598959 0.0088853 205.7-144.7 164.0510277 0.131650053 144.7-99.6  113.2793455 0.294709491 99.6-82.1 88.98089675 0.331539838 82.1-71.4 75.89033961 0.34527909 71.4-60.0 64.52630192 0.360216738 60.0-52.8 55.83732662 0.367929549 52.8-46.8 49.32751384 0.373710394 46.8-41.4 43.66300585 0.378313283 41.4-37.2 39.02724789 0.38481289 37.2-33.2 34.8920748 0.391803441 33.2-30.0 31.34913535 0.393761301 30.0-27.3 28.49102813 0.394422444 27.3-24.7 25.83440471 0.396180539 24.7-22.3 23.34690716 0.401510134 22.3-19.8 20.83368622 0.40782788 19.8-17.5 18.45917969 0.416568116

TABLE VI Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY15045 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 1277.7-542.6  649.560333 0.000489722 542.6-213.2 252.9981774 0.000667721 213.2-206.9 209.9696024 0.001419558 206.9-141.9 161.6476715 0.261729457 141.9-106.3 118.498425 0.346563251 106.3-84.0  92.17838423 0.37856771 84.0-71.8 76.76600632 0.393497452 71.8-62.4 66.31374327 0.404409264 62.4-53.6 57.17863111 0.411077722 53.6-48.0 50.38372676 0.416000386 48.0-42.5 44.81172299 0.421626585 42.5-38.3 40.08447096 0.428067208 38.3-34.4 36.07215077 0.431303175 34.4-31.5 32.76081107 0.433543649 31.5-26.3 27.29321095 0.440720595 26.3-23.8 24.89263623 0.44207166 23.8-21.3 22.31849785 0.443967237 21.3-19.1 19.99937462 0.45436982 19.1-16.1 17.16801839 0.47745598

TABLE VII Mercury Intrusion Data for CY15077 Pore size Cumulative Diameter (A) Intrusion (mL/g) 226299.0625 3.40136E−30 213166.0781 0.001678752 201295.1563 0.002518128 172635.8125 0.004364755 139538.0625 0.007554384 113120.7813 0.011919139 90542.36719 0.01645177 78733.25781 0.0203129 72446.375 0.022327403 60340.40234 0.027867284 48343.83984 0.035327822 39009.13672 0.040918175 32136.4082 0.04899035 25330.65625 0.063195683 20981.51563 0.079529688 16219.86426 0.108860672 13252.41211 0.141730919 10501.53613 0.193969816 8359.911133 0.262399256 6786.30127 0.345866203 5538.122559 0.438174427 4337.931152 0.563276172 3501.674805 0.681870878 2838.742188 0.804727197 2593.016846 0.865813017 2266.688965 0.938610673 1831.041748 1.056586146 1509.850708 1.163395643 1394.006104 1.21002543 1294.780151 1.257248282 1207.692627 1.293158531 1131.860962 1.326992273 1065.099976 1.35812819 953.1816406 1.405935764 884.0358887 1.445426106 823.5491333 1.478719592 770.9108276 1.510579824 722.4724731 1.537048101 684.6119995 1.564400196 672.187561 1.581117511 636.7885742 1.60271585 604.7248535 1.621845484 558.1287231 1.651492 518.2624512 1.678913713 483.5536499 1.708594561 453.5110779 1.735918999 426.9998474 1.755934 403.1251526 1.783603072 382.7776794 1.793849826 362.7162476 1.817784309 342.3734436 1.838774562 330.1105042 1.851493955 315.5238037 1.869742155 302.2973938 1.885128617 290.2946777 1.895119786 279.1246643 1.912378907 268.7442627 1.924305081 259.1106873 1.936048627 241.8737793 1.955100656 226.7678223 1.972970247 213.3626251 1.988123298 201.4908142 2.007521152 194.9888611 2.022114754 188.9506989 2.033871174 180.582901 2.035052776 172.8530121 2.050720692 164.9621735 2.062945843 157.8110657 2.071056128 151.1540375 2.082133055 143.9185333 2.096480608 138.4670563 2.106938839 132.8492737 2.119287968 129.5760345 2.126605988 126.5438614 2.126605988 124.2635574 2.132267475 120.8976135 2.141504765 117.3792267 2.150759459 114.791893 2.154810667 111.9475937 2.162935257 108.8830032 2.167646885 106.6480179 2.174062729 104.5217743 2.179908991 102.4295197 2.179908991 100.1580353 2.182951927 98.29322052 2.184018135 96.44822693 2.191127539 94.42159271 2.198545218 91.52587891 2.209161043 89.25807953 2.209312439 87.0777359 2.215425491 85.42358398 2.221472025 83.62612915 2.232139587 82.11174011 2.237514496 79.91614532 2.239231586 78.01462555 2.239560127 76.19993591 2.239560127 75.09249115 2.239560127 73.41201019 2.239560127 72.23709869 2.240245819 71.09960175 2.242422104 69.86301422 2.243849993 68.40761566 2.257676363 67.13697815 2.259181261 66.03359222 2.266284466 65.08189392 2.270181179 64.04368591 2.272682428 62.38490295 2.280714512 61.32764053 2.280714512 60.30379868 2.287917852 59.41370392 2.287917852 58.54679489 2.293802738 57.79866409 2.297607183 56.88977814 2.299046278 55.9213295 2.302111387 54.98665237 2.303381443

Example 2: Polymer Modification CY15087

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

N-vinylpyrrolidone functionalization; base polymer, CY15077, was not steam stripped or sieved prior to functionalization. Two 99% IPA washes at 50° C. were completed during workup for the base polymer, as opposed to one wash at RT. Following IPA washes, the polymer was washed three times with an excess of DI water. Wetted CY15077 polymer beads were added to a 1 L jacketed glass reaction kettle, fitted with a Teflon coated agitator, containing 450 mL DI water, 50.0 g N-vinylpyrrolidone monomer, and 1.5 g sodium persulfate. The reaction was allowed to proceed for 24 hours at 75° C., with agitation speed set to 100 RPM. Upon completion the polymer beads were washed five times with 500 mL DI water at 70° C., steam stripped in a stainless steel tube for 8 hours, rewet in 70% IPA, transferred into DI water, sieved to obtain only the portion of beads having diameters between 300 and 600 μm, and dried at 100° C. until no further weight loss on drying was observed. The yield was 95.5 g of polymer CY15087. Atomic concentrations measured by XPS, and cumulative pore volume data measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry, are shown in Tables VIII and IX, respectively.

TABLE VIII Atomic Concentrations (in %) for CY15077 and CY15087 Polymer Condition C N O CY15077 Bead 96.2 0.0 3.8 CY15077 Ground 98.6 0.0 1.4 CY15087 Bead 95.5 0.4 4.2 CY15087 Ground 98.3 0.2 1.5

TABLE IX Mercury Intrusion Data for CY15087 Pore size Cumulative Diameter (A) Intrusion (mL/g) 226275.6875 3.003E−30 213126.625 0.001333927 201250.5938 0.002964283 172601.8438 0.005928566 139532.5469 0.009189277 113124.3359 0.012449989 90545.25 0.015710698 78739.35156 0.017489269 72432.5625 0.01897141 60333.77734 0.021935694 46762.60547 0.026795639 39173.96094 0.03074207 31808.34375 0.034442116 25357.64648 0.040027067 20929.94141 0.046409778 16182.15234 0.056623131 13255.21973 0.065796889 10561.28809 0.080750667 8353.926758 0.105692402 6778.929199 0.138670683 5543.002441 0.177410021 4342.263672 0.24024339 3502.678711 0.308058321 2839.226807 0.388105094 2591.51416 0.428066701 2267.699951 0.48154822 1831.208252 0.570007741 1510.12561 0.655585647 1394.226563 0.696180701 1294.746582 0.729135811 1208.07251 0.76245892 1132.023804 0.795990944 1065.684937 0.815372229 953.989502 0.855566621 883.8703613 0.871785223 823.4996338 0.921781898 771.3513794 0.949763238 722.1901245 1.018806458 684.8914185 1.027466536 671.8579712 1.033001781 636.456604 1.044957519 604.6593018 1.05753231 557.9059448 1.079107881 518.4785156 1.102458835 483.8456726 1.127018452 453.9489746 1.151340365 426.8711243 1.174746156 402.8918152 1.194709539 382.4490967 1.213674426 360.680481 1.231868267 342.5672302 1.252067924 329.8339539 1.267953753 315.4637756 1.28668797 302.4020996 1.299176812 290.331665 1.314114213 279.2361145 1.322446585 268.7993164 1.34148562 259.2027283 1.349915743 241.8540192 1.363333344 226.7354431 1.38415575 213.408844 1.386666298 201.5056763 1.411639214 194.9947357 1.426415801 188.935318 1.428328514 180.6179199 1.441128492 172.8575745 1.453100324 164.9869385 1.464205742 157.740097 1.473819733 151.1829987 1.486423731 143.9502716 1.499343991 138.4791107 1.509965897 132.8890839 1.522242427 129.5950317 1.529255748 126.493248 1.529255748 124.2660522 1.53686142 120.8921432 1.543375134 117.3944702 1.549948096 114.7864304 1.558065772 111.9504318 1.56092155 108.9145203 1.564850807 106.6669846 1.571887255 104.5330276 1.574593782 102.4421844 1.584572434 100.1668015 1.591516852 98.28172302 1.594149351 96.44982147 1.595042825 94.43471527 1.595328212 91.55084229 1.595610261 89.27562714 1.604250789 87.08631134 1.61047101 85.43348694 1.616541862 83.63105011 1.620805621 82.10086823 1.627643347 79.91345978 1.629765868 78.01348877 1.631207824 76.20350647 1.63190341 75.09172821 1.634262919 73.41147614 1.638391137 72.23751831 1.642881751 71.10028076 1.646320224 69.861763 1.648736954 68.40744019 1.655003667 67.13788605 1.662294388 66.03204346 1.667405605 65.08184814 1.670548201 64.04498291 1.671463728 62.38602829 1.673002481 61.32709885 1.673002481 60.30479813 1.673002481 59.41309738 1.673002481 58.54596329 1.673002481 57.799366 1.673613429 56.88968277 1.673613429 55.92052078 1.677541733 54.98633194 1.677541733

Example 3: Polymer Modification CY15100 and CY15102

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

Sulfonation procedure; dried base polymer was added to a 1 L jacketed glass reactor, which was equipped with a Teflon coated agitator. A mixture of concentrated sulfuric acid (98%) and fuming sulfuric acid (20% SO₃ in sulfuric acid) was added to the reactor containing base polymer. The reaction was carried out at 90° C. for 24 hours, with constant agitation at 100 RPM.

Work-up; the reaction volume was allowed to cool to room temperature (RT), and was slowly added into a chemical glass beaker with an excess of at least 1 L ice cold DI water. Sulfonated polymer was washed with excess DI water at RT until the supernatant reached a neutral pH. The resulting polymer was then treated with 100 mL 1M NaOH_((aq)) for 1 hour at RT to convert polymer bound ˜SO₃H into ˜SO₃Na groups. Polymer was washed again with an excess of DI water at RT until the supernatant reached a neutral pH, then dried in an oven at 100° C. until no further loss on drying was observed. The dried ˜SO₃Na functional polymer yield was measured. Reaction compositions for CY15100 and CY15102 are provided in Table X. Table XI displays atomic concentrations for polymers CY15100, CY15102, and CY15087, as measured by XPS. Log differential pore volume plots are presented in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, and cumulative pore volume data are presented in Tables XII, XIII, and XIV. When interpreting pore structure data obtained from nitrogen desorption isotherm or mercury intrusion porosimetry using dried polymer as the sample, it is important to consider that pore size may change upon swelling of sulfonated poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) porous beads once wetted in solution. In addition to potential changes in pore structure, the bead size may also change upon transition from dry to swollen state. This phenomenon was evaluated in “Preparation and Evaluation of Differently Sulfonated Styrene-Divinylbenzene Cross-Linked Copolymer Cationic Exchange Resins as Novel Carriers for Drug Delivery”, published in AAPS PharmSciTech June 2009; 10(2): 641-648.

Thrombogenicity was measured by the uPTT assay in which materials were compared to the negative control (plasma alone), positive control (glass beads) and reference beads to determine the degree of contact activation activity. In the uPTT assay, the % change in clot formation over time as compared to the reference materials was determined, then grouped according to: <25% activators, 25-49% moderate activators, 50-74% mild activators, 75-100% minimal and >100% non-activators of the intrinsic coagulation pathway. Polymer CY15100, 82%, was a minimal activator.

TABLE X Modification Compositions for CY15100 and CY15102 CY15100 CY15102 Base Polymer CY15045 CY15087 Mass Base Polymer (g) 220.0 80.0 Mass Concentrated Sulfuric Acid (g) 950.0 550.0 Mass Fuming Sulfuric Acid (g) 50.0 30.0 Yield Dry Modified Polymer (g) 355.5 204.6

TABLE XI Atomic Concentrations (in %) for CY15100, CY15102, and CY15087 Polymer Condition C N O Na S CY15100 Bead 65.7 0.2 20.5 8.0 5.7 CY15102 Bead 71.6 0.5 17.2 6.6 4.1 CY15087 Bead 95.5 0.4 4.2 0.0 0.0 CY15087 Ground 98.3 0.2 1.5 0.0 0.0

TABLE XII Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY15100 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 2072.6-552.5  648.562383 0.000416099 552.5-354.3 410.9223564 0.000905416 354.3-337.5 345.4980521 0.001122701 337.5-311.7 323.5292132 0.001561729 311.7-288.8 299.3515093 0.001919004 288.8-272.0 279.8911375 0.002345465 272.0-252.4 261.4265539 0.002783018 252.4-239.0 245.303922 0.003244227 239.0-225.7 231.9701343 0.004052829 225.7-212.7 218.7962082 0.005280802 212.7-204.5 208.4059706 0.007418375 204.5-131.6 152.2941936 0.087124099 131.6-99.3  110.8101833 0.170472908 99.3-72.3 81.43320551 0.20555251 72.3-62.2 66.46726774 0.212857437 62.2-52.1 56.21812708 0.218554756 52.1-45.7 48.42881742 0.221509707 45.7-39.4 42.03869424 0.223879096 39.4-34.5 36.58507436 0.225521077 34.5-29.1 31.32500867 0.230015257 29.1-25.1 26.83485239 0.230195589 25.1-22.0 23.36857621 0.230286279 22.0-19.4 20.51213112 0.232863812

TABLE XIII Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY15102 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 1598.8-1238.8 1372.941344 0.026272341 1238.8-946.4  1053.220361 0.092081573 946.4-758.1 831.0482586 0.194131921 758.1-677.1 712.8857859 0.258283006 677.1-529.4 584.7345957 0.38744334 529.4-485.2 505.2928332 0.431560876 485.2-443.2 462.211297 0.481712669 443.2-396.6 417.205311 0.529431372 396.6-361.7 377.5005059 0.571368548 361.7-324.6 341.0804153 0.616836751 324.6-296.1 308.9881056 0.653318693 296.1-271.6 282.7268533 0.684779469 271.6-256.8 263.7792955 0.704908544 256.8-239.4 247.4475287 0.727833901 239.4-230.2 234.5702219 0.739926683 230.2-217.1 223.2037828 0.756372211 217.1-206.8 211.680438 0.769442061 206.8-140.7 160.5985991 0.863794835 140.7-106.0 118.0466801 0.922556622 106.0-82.8  91.24150017 0.968039661 82.8-68.2 73.90381313 1.001829887 68.2-60.9 64.05281388 1.020920023 60.9-52.5 55.98109194 1.044868856 52.5-46.3 48.94597942 1.065247397 46.3-41.2 43.35983259 1.084233305 41.2-37.0 38.81504369 1.106456908 37.0-33.1 34.78421912 1.129603729 33.1-30.0 31.33519542 1.146218801 30.0-27.3 28.4688972 1.162517069 27.3-24.6 25.75215358 1.182048628 24.6-22.4 23.33791231 1.201310022 22.4-19.8 20.89212489 1.229148706 19.8-17.6 18.54892595 1.260822457

TABLE XIV Mercury Intrusion Data for CY15102 Pore size Cumulative Diameter (A) Intrusion (mL/g) 226247.25 3.02E−30 213156.0625 0.000893837 201297.1875 0.002383566 172619.2656 0.004320214 139526.7344 0.006107889 113150.6484 0.007448644 90544.85156 0.009236319 78737.24219 0.010130156 72447.07031 0.011172966 60339.52344 0.012066803 49074.61719 0.012066803 38783.65625 0.012066803 32031.35742 0.012456137 25154.1582 0.01550037 20919.94336 0.01550037 16226.36035 0.016433783 13231.0293 0.018065026 10569.24219 0.020413134 8346.358398 0.023545867 6777.795898 0.027556093 5545.635742 0.032167129 4347.45166 0.039555997 3496.898926 0.049277436 2839.973145 0.057190847 2592.47998 0.06178461 2267.395264 0.071647309 1831.758789 0.089788206 1510.39563 0.112907536 1394.068237 0.125744253 1294.699707 0.136810422 1207.551147 0.147966579 1132.260498 0.159586608 1065.672974 0.171025708 954.0095215 0.191800222 884.2581177 0.20811981 823.8370972 0.228217274 771.1380615 0.239915013 721.8734131 0.275565475 684.4716797 0.281177133 672.791748 0.283745468 636.3512573 0.295114249 605.4035034 0.309263676 558.758606 0.326112717 518.5050049 0.352752388 483.7310181 0.367008656 453.6919861 0.390547335 426.9628296 0.407471895 403.0959778 0.4232741 382.8546753 0.444355428 362.905426 0.463873088 342.0473328 0.487040371 329.7276001 0.504495382 315.7310791 0.522837102 302.3917236 0.545027971 290.2372131 0.567096949 279.1113586 0.588691056 268.6489563 0.608853817 259.2150879 0.635331511 241.9123993 0.710671127 226.7029877 0.774290979 213.3559113 0.867704988 201.5307922 0.867704988 195.0246887 0.867704988 188.9438019 0.867704988 180.6033783 0.867704988 172.8410034 0.869671643 164.969101 0.869671643 157.8126526 0.87475878 151.1803131 0.905465066 143.936264 0.909094393 138.4554596 0.931292474 132.8584442 0.938616037 129.575531 0.938616037 126.4766693 0.971493781 124.2657852 0.971493781 120.9015427 0.972762465 117.374855 0.977469385 114.7828751 0.981295645 111.9444351 0.981295645 108.8816452 0.981295645 106.6592331 0.986702561 104.5428238 0.996097863 102.4358368 1.000003457 100.1722946 1.003374338 98.26839447 1.006461024 96.44637299 1.008966684 94.41146851 1.012030125 91.54938507 1.015347958 89.25726318 1.018440247 87.0788269 1.021567345 85.42123413 1.024644852 83.62944031 1.028239489 82.1011734 1.02980864 79.91355133 1.032312155 78.00926208 1.034948707 76.20082092 1.037501097 75.09120178 1.039880157 73.4092865 1.042042732 72.23842621 1.043176413 71.09993744 1.047091961 69.86208344 1.047258615 68.40840912 1.049208641 67.1362381 1.05278945 66.0329895 1.05278945 65.08166504 1.053350925 64.04417419 1.054639339 62.38519287 1.055902362 61.32834625 1.060090899 60.30381012 1.062460899 59.41312408 1.063420892 58.54793549 1.064275384 57.79902267 1.066532493 56.88972473 1.068112493 55.92105865 1.072528958 54.9865036 1.072528958

Example 4: Polymer Modification CY14144 and CY15101

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

Sulfonation procedure; dried base polymer was mixed with glacial acetic acid in a 500 mL glass reactor equipped with a Teflon coated mechanical agitator, and heated to 50° C. with agitation set to 100 RPM. A mild sulfonating agent was prepared by adding acetic anhydride (99%) to a 100 mL chemical glass beaker, cooled in an ice bath, and slowly adding concentrated sulfuric acid (98%) over 30 minutes. Temperature of the mixture was monitored and maintained between 15-40° C. by replenishing the ice bath. After completion of the sulfuric acid addition, the reddish-brown viscous liquid was kept at RT for 1 hour, and then slowly added to the reactor. The reaction was allowed to proceed for a specified amount of time.

Work-up; the reaction volume was allowed to cool to room temperature (RT), and was slowly added into a chemical glass beaker with an excess of at least 1 L ice cold DI water. Sulfonated polymer was washed with excess DI water at RT until the supernatant reached a neutral pH. The resulting polymer was then treated with 100 mL 1M NaOH_((aq)) for 1 hour at RT to convert polymer bound ˜SO₃H into ˜SO₃Na groups. Polymer was washed again with an excess of DI water at RT until the supernatant reached a neutral pH, then dried in an oven at 100° C. until no further loss on drying was observed. The dried ˜SO₃Na functional polymer yield was measured. Reaction compositions for polymers CY14144 and CY15101 are shown in Table XV, below. Atomic concentrations determined by XPS for polymers CY14144, CY12004, CY15101, and CY15087 are presented below, in Table XVI. FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 show plots of log differential pore volume for each of the modified polymers described above. Cumulative pore volume data are shown below in Tables XVII, XVIII, and XIX.

Thrombogenicity was measured by the uPTT assay in which materials were compared to the negative control (plasma alone), positive control (glass beads) and reference beads to determine the degree of contact activation activity. In the uPTT assay, the % change in clot formation over time as compared to the reference materials was determined, then grouped according to: <25% activators, 25-49% moderate activators, 50-74% mild activators, 75-100% minimal and >100% non-activators of the intrinsic coagulation pathway. Polymer CY15101, 88%, was a minimal activator.

TABLE XV Modification Compositions for CY14144 and CY15101 CY14144 CY15101 Base Polymer CY12004 CY15087 Mass Base Polymer (g) 11.7 80.5 Volume Glacial Acetic Acid (mL) 75 400 Mass Acetic Anhydride (g) 15.5 125.0 Mass Concentrated Sulfuric Acid (g) 10.0 80.0 Reaction Time (hr) 1 2 Yield Dry Modified Polymer (g) 15.2 103.4

TABLE XVI Atomic Concentrations (in %) for CY14144, CY12004, CY15101 and CY15087 Polymer Condition C N O Na S CY14144 Ground 87.0 0.0 8.7 2.5 1.8 CY12004 Bead 88.7 3.4 7.9 0.0 0.0 CY12004 Ground 95.0 0.4 4.7 0.0 0.0 CY15101 Bead 93.3 0.7 5.5 0.4 0.1 CY15087 Bead 95.5 0.4 4.2 0.0 0.0 CY15087 Ground 98.3 0.2 1.5 0.0 0.0

TABLE XVII Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY14144 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 1316.7-872.8  1006.357045 0.00765904 872.8-760.0 808.4322272 0.01624896 760.0-683.5 717.5974884 0.028034508 683.5-625.7 651.9899544 0.04390322 625.7-580.4 601.3250683 0.063539075 580.4-506.1 537.9818896 0.171853178 506.1-449.5 474.3191955 0.315569993 449.5-395.6 418.9973346 0.494055963 395.6-367.4 380.4061561 0.562885137 367.4-336.7 350.6379611 0.677258819 336.7-297.9 314.7821036 0.775586161 297.9-293.1 295.4222209 0.799779319 293.1-271.2 281.2260787 0.844974101 271.2-254.9 262.5094171 0.885670627 254.9-241.5 247.8251105 0.914384164 241.5-229.9 235.3841146 0.939107638 229.9-218.4 223.8303393 0.963836661 218.4-143.9 165.3652577 1.129471233 143.9-105.5 118.3403917 1.219663568 105.5-85.5  93.18473659 1.269908393 85.5-70.2 76.1345754 1.313809596 70.2-59.9 64.12468772 1.346563035 59.9-51.8 55.16793458 1.375536168 51.8-45.4 48.0976978 1.401122481 45.4-40.2 42.43389408 1.424635177 40.2-36.1 37.88651456 1.449718809 36.1-32.1 33.79019728 1.477483715 32.1-28.9 30.28159181 1.497726602 28.9-26.3 27.45536434 1.516706872 26.3-23.6 24.73777781 1.540207545 23.6-21.1 22.17739744 1.565080566 21.1-19.0 19.93703511 1.59109954 19.0-16.5 17.51596978 1.630846881

TABLE XVIII Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY15101 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 1633.5-1308.6 1434.817706 0.015869195 1308.6-938.9  1063.085479 0.076011287 938.9-822.1 872.5400938 0.113427572 822.1-664.4 726.153686 0.190492729 664.4-541.2 589.8410779 0.271968628 541.2-495.4 516.2061221 0.306797766 495.4-452.4 471.8824199 0.342922234 452.4-411.9 430.1606805 0.374728484 411.9-373.7 390.8559715 0.406903208 373.7-338.1 354.0440222 0.436879429 338.1-306.8 320.8627294 0.464287882 306.8-282.0 293.2737773 0.487609004 282.0-258.7 269.2384186 0.507679709 258.7-244.7 251.276503 0.519925622 244.7-229.0 236.3042502 0.53405423 229.0-216.9 222.6261956 0.545016489 216.9-207.3 211.8651212 0.55492914 207.3-144.0 163.6239028 0.618758477 144.0-103.4 116.4570854 0.668697015 103.4-85.6  92.59846579 0.694263778 85.6-72.1 77.55016135 0.716487235 72.1-60.7 65.25664927 0.73733967 60.7-53.0 56.18831893 0.752958019 53.0-46.6 49.26725758 0.767344784 46.6-41.5 43.64795708 0.78015016 41.5-37.3 39.09541737 0.794981989 37.3-33.3 35.01993833 0.810085989 33.3-30.2 31.57107231 0.8201347 30.2-27.5 28.71043051 0.829560837 27.5-24.8 25.99331273 0.839975544 24.8-22.6 23.59379328 0.8493402 22.6-20.0 21.1163566 0.861908143 20.0-17.8 18.73336683 0.874402144

TABLE XIX Mercury Intrusion Data for CY15101 Pore size Cumulative Diameter (A) Intrusion (mL/g) 226247.25 3.367E−30 213156.0625 0.001661795 201297.1875 0.002658872 172619.2656 0.005317744 139526.7344 0.007976616 113150.6484 0.009638411 90544.85156 0.012297283 78737.24219 0.014125257 72447.07031 0.015620873 60339.52344 0.017947385 49556.56641 0.01949878 38738.37109 0.021929506 31002.00586 0.023903539 25333.7832 0.02616792 20724.62109 0.029177248 16168.99121 0.033409968 13230.375 0.037765641 10563.43555 0.044586275 8346.731445 0.054462213 6776.340332 0.0666546 5536.147949 0.083998173 4342.036621 0.107802272 3501.501953 0.137485042 2837.420654 0.177576199 2594.672363 0.200087309 2269.617432 0.233489379 1831.204224 0.295208424 1510.503906 0.360582143 1395.643555 0.392902017 1293.973755 0.421268374 1207.494141 0.447410613 1131.894531 0.47241658 1065.193237 0.49649471 953.9039307 0.535679519 884.3017578 0.568524599 823.786377 0.597846568 771.5706177 0.616960466 722.1925049 0.691450536 684.2458496 0.697761118 672.2320557 0.703246117 636.7992554 0.713504672 604.4926758 0.726847529 558.8725586 0.746505737 517.9966431 0.774387836 483.9524536 0.799027622 453.7037354 0.824069798 426.9303894 0.846621335 403.1401672 0.898474514 382.6773987 0.91877532 362.9386292 0.946397841 342.2199707 0.946397841 330.153656 0.953894079 315.6123962 0.954481184 302.6812439 0.954481184 290.4436646 0.967425823 279.009491 0.974567354 268.8323975 0.974567354 259.2565308 0.974567354 241.9353333 1.028741002 226.8330078 1.048289418 213.444046 1.065926313 201.5080414 1.074228048 195.0001221 1.095143437 188.9437103 1.106776357 180.6530914 1.11556828 172.9412994 1.127364159 164.9789429 1.139592171 157.7405396 1.150992036 151.1612091 1.161784291 143.9489746 1.172875285 138.4779053 1.185242534 132.8603821 1.194525123 129.5736542 1.200321555 126.4793472 1.207967401 124.2483292 1.213427901 120.9080048 1.221876502 117.3827286 1.223723292 114.771225 1.23161757 111.937149 1.237899184 108.9081039 1.239180923 106.6535568 1.245096564 104.5474396 1.24916625 102.455368 1.25267899 100.1680145 1.261325955 98.2784729 1.261325955 96.45231628 1.267885208 94.40316772 1.274962544 91.53180695 1.279593945 89.26702118 1.285915971 87.08314514 1.285915971 85.42582703 1.287682652 83.6335144 1.29400897 82.10058594 1.300267935 79.91345978 1.30387032 78.01080322 1.308264375 76.19985962 1.313777924 75.09228516 1.318249345 73.41210175 1.321508646 72.23653412 1.323805094 71.09803772 1.32500124 69.86273193 1.334167719 68.40810394 1.336985707 67.13769531 1.340026617 66.03487396 1.340026617 65.0819931 1.340224981 64.04338074 1.340224981 62.38589478 1.346690297 61.32817841 1.358168244 60.30670166 1.358168244 59.41316605 1.358532906 58.54763031 1.358532906 57.79816818 1.358532906 56.88824844 1.358532906 55.92269516 1.366921306 54.98662186 1.373521209

Example 5: Mild Sulfonation of Poly(Divinylbenzene) Based Uncoated Porous Polymeric Beads with Acetyl Sulfate, Followed by Functionalization with Poly(N-Vinylpyrrolidone) as a Hemocompatible Coating, Used to Prepare Modified Polymer CY15048

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

Among various “mild” sulfonating agents acetyl sulfate (prepared from 98% conc. Sulfuric acid and acetic anhydride at low temperatures) is known to be very efficient for DVB or styrene based polymeric materials. Sulfonation is usually done at 50° C. for several hours using equimolar amounts of acetyl sulfate and DVB or styrene based polymers. Sulfonation occurs mainly at benzene ring and unreacted double bonds (in DVB based cross-linked polymeric porous beads) could be preserved for further functionalization. Usually after sulfonation with acetyl sulfate, the polymer is converted into ˜SO₃Na form and can be graft copolymerized with N-vinyl pyrrolidone (in bulk with benzoyl peroxide as initiator) or in water solutions (using sodium persulfate initiator). Resulting sulfonated polymer is “coated” with poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) to make hemocompatible material capable of removing K⁺ cations from physiological fluids.

The base polymer selected for this modification was polymer CY15044. The sulfonation and workup were carried out as described in Example 4, using 45.0 g dry CY15044 polymer, 150 mL glacial acetic acid, 62.0 g acetic anhydride, and 40.0 g concentrated sulfuric acid. The resulting sulfonated polymer, in ˜SO₃Na form, was rewet in DI water in a 1 L jacketed reaction vessel fitted with a Teflon coated agitator. DI water was removed from the vessel, and a solution composed of 75 mL NVP monomer, 1.7 g sodium persulfate, and 25 mL DI water was added. The reaction was allowed to proceed for 72 hours at 70° C. with agitation speed set to 100 RPM. Resulting poly(NVP) coated polymer was washed five times using 200 mL DI water, and dried in a vacuum oven until no further loss on drying was observed. Cumulative pore volume data for polymer CY15048 is shown below, in Table XX. A log differential pore volume plot is shown in FIG. 7.

Thrombogenicity was measured by the uPTT assay in which materials were compared to the negative control (plasma alone), positive control (glass beads) and reference beads to determine the degree of contact activation activity. In the uPTT assay, the % change in clot formation over time as compared to the reference materials was determined, then grouped according to: <25% activators, 25-49% moderate activators, 50-74% mild activators, 75-100% minimal and >100% non-activators of the intrinsic coagulation pathway. Polymer CY15048, 94%, was a minimal activator.

TABLE XX Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY15048 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 4355.2-828.4  944.3942734 0.0001057 828.4-474.0 558.6159743 0.000283797 474.0-303.3 351.2170892 0.000357942 303.3-224.3 251.4508466 0.000719278 224.3-216.6 220.2880162 0.001144201 216.6-208.1 212.161881 0.001932015 208.1-143.6 163.4823625 0.075370749 143.6-108.1 120.3913517 0.239861146 108.1-81.7  90.85045572 0.292261423 81.7-71.8 76.00202402 0.305608258 71.8-60.2 64.83123041 0.320783836 60.2-52.6 55.8248996 0.329250736 52.6-46.6 49.1740518 0.335209946 46.6-41.3 43.5462226 0.339923553 41.3-37.4 39.07691383 0.349323983 37.4-32.5 34.52204235 0.351977397 32.5-29.4 30.76412188 0.352966945 29.4-27.3 28.24001433 0.353787455 27.3-24.6 25.76447932 0.355166927 24.6-22.3 23.26898468 0.357207636 22.3-19.9 20.87422635 0.360962494 19.9-17.5 18.46778237 0.367188172

Example 6: Mild Sulfonation of Poly(Styrene-Co-Divinylbenzene) Uncoated Porous Polymeric Beads, Followed by Functionalization with Poly(N-Vinylpyrrolidone) as a Hemocompatible Coating, Used to Prepare Modified Polymer CY15049

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

The base polymer selected for this modification was polymer CY15042. The sulfonation and workup were carried out as described in Example 4, using 45.0 g dry CY15042 polymer, 200 mL glacial acetic acid, 62.0 g acetic anhydride, and 40.0 g concentrated sulfuric acid. The reaction was allowed to proceed for 2 hours. The resulting dried sulfonated polymer, in ˜SO₃Na form, was added to a 1 L jacketed reaction vessel fitted with a Teflon coated agitator. 140.0 g N-vinylpyrrolidone monomer and 2.0 g benzoyl peroxide were added to the reactor. The reaction was allowed to proceed for 24 hours at 70° C. with agitation speed set to 100 RPM. Resulting poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) coated polymer was washed five times using 200 mL DI water, and dried in a vacuum oven until no further loss on drying was observed. Table XXI, below, displays cumulative pore volume data for polymer CY15049. FIG. 8 presents a log differential pore volume plot.

TABLE XXI Nitrogen Desorption Data for CY15049 Pore Diameter Average Cumulative Pore Range (Å) Diameter (Å) Volume (cm³/g) 6798.1-997.4  1113.294549 0.002499046 997.4-529.0 628.6356118 0.005782394 529.0-503.0 515.3445059 0.00652485 503.0-431.3 461.4274588 0.007796961 431.3-320.8 359.3702778 0.010896953 320.8-317.4 319.0643487 0.011833304 317.4-274.0 292.3669097 0.013396248 274.0-230.2 248.1049882 0.016483381 230.2-225.4 227.7447013 0.017366617 225.4-211.6 218.0383103 0.018833905 211.6-195.5 202.8978228 0.029306436 195.5-143.0 160.6741284 0.494786051 143.0-99.0  112.5005572 0.779812896 99.0-82.5 89.05063735 0.848450234 82.5-69.8 74.92200629 0.902458565 69.8-59.0 63.37885992 0.947842682 59.0-51.2 54.4553105 0.981969695 51.2-44.8 47.47101253 1.011973922 44.8-39.4 41.69146063 1.039279282 39.4-35.3 37.10279099 1.066468142 35.3-31.3 33.03019211 1.096075821 31.3-28.2 29.57468036 1.118921801 28.2-25.5 26.70738162 1.143080339 25.5-22.8 23.944141 1.17115692 22.8-20.4 21.43590284 1.201324419 20.4-18.2 19.13416412 1.23163662

Example 7: Single-Pass Filtration for Hemoglobin and Potassium Removal

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

Units of human pRBC were allowed to equilibrate to room temperature for 30 minutes, where the units were gently mixed for 15 minutes. A blood spike was inserted into the unit and samples for the initial hemoglobin (Hb) and potassium concentrations were taken. The blood spike line was attached to the top port of the polymer containing filtration device, and a sample collection line attached to the bottom port. A pinch clamp was fitted on the sample collection line for flow control. Approximately one bed volume, 30 mL, was flushed through the device into a waste container to purge the device of normal saline solution. The sample collection tube was placed over 15 mL conical tubes where 12 mL fractions of pRBCs were collected at a flow rate of about 3-3.5 mL/min until the unit was completely filtered. Sample tubes were centrifuged for 15 minutes at 4600 RPM at 4° C. Plasma supernatant from each sample tube was collected and the plasma free hemoglobin level was determined by an absorbance read at 450 nm and potassium levels were measured with a potassium ion-selective electrode. The percentage of initial free hemoglobin removed during single-pass filtration, averaged from three trials, is presented in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 displays pre- and post-filtration potassium ion concentration in blood, averaged from three trials. Polymers CY15101 and CY15102 are able to remove significant quantities of both potassium and hemoglobin, while polymer CY15100 only removes the potassium and does not remove hemoglobin.

Example 8: Dynamic Recirculation Filtration

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

Polymer CY14144 has been tested in a dynamic competitive system evaluating albumin (30 mg/mL) and myoglobin (100 mg/L) removal from a PBS solution with 8 mEq/L potassium. This model has been designed to reflect clinical albumin and myoglobin (rhabdomyolysis) values. The dynamic system allows for the continuous measurement of protein adsorption by the polymer beads at two UV wavelengths. As long as the surrogate proteins, such as albumin and myoglobin, have different UV absorption profiles, the two protein surrogates can be measured simultaneously, providing competitive adsorption conditions. This allows a rapid assessment of polymer performance for the simultaneous adsorption of target and non-target factors under flow conditions; a key parameter to assess studies that balance sorption with hemocompatibility. The dynamic system has been fully calibrated (absorbance and flow conditions) and was used to measure binding with a 6 mL polymer filled device at a flow rate of 6 mL/min for five hours at room temperature. CY14144 has a robust myoglobin adsorption, potassium removal and demonstrated good selectivity with minimal albumin removal. Dynamic recirculation data for CY14144, averaged from 7 trials, is shown below in FIG. 11. The average potassium removal, measured as the percent reduction from initial quantity, was found to be 25.3% with a standard deviation of 1.42.

Thrombogenicity was measured by the uPTT assay in which materials were compared to the negative control (plasma alone), positive control (glass beads) and reference beads to determine the degree of contact activation activity. In the uPTT assay, the % change in clot formation over time as compared to the reference materials was determined, then grouped according to: <25% activators, 25-49% moderate activators, 50-74% mild activators, 75-100% minimal and >100% non-activators of the intrinsic coagulation pathway. Shown below, in Table XXII, is a comparison of thrombogenicity for two different potassium removing polymers. Polymer CY14144 exhibits minimal thrombogenic activity while still removing potassium and myoglobin simultaneously in a dynamic recirculation model in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). In comparison, potassium sorbent CY14022 is a moderate activator of the intrinsic coagulation pathway by the uPTT assay and is ineffective in myoglobin removal.

TABLE XXII Myoglobin and Potassium Removal from PBS in a Dynamic Recirculation Model Myoglobin Potassium Polymer uPTT Removal Removal CY14144 87% 71.63% 25.3% CY14022 59% 5.94% 66.07%

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein.

Additionally, polymer CY14144 is able to remove significant levels of potassium from blood plasma in a dynamic recirculation model. The normal range for blood potassium is 3.5-5 mEq/L while a patient suffering from hyperkalemia might have blood potassium levels up to 7-7.5 mEq/L. Reperfusion of plasma with a starting concentration of potassium 7.45 mEq/L through a device filled with polymer CY14144 under recirculation conditions that mimic the clinical application reduced the potassium concentration to 4.52 mEq/L (a 2.93 mEq/L reduction) in 5 hours.

The general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the invention as provided herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A biocompatible polymer system comprising at least one polymer, said polymer comprising (i) a plurality of pores and (ii) a sulfonic acid salt functionality; said polymer system capable of adsorbing protein based toxins, inflammatory mediators and positively charged ions; wherein the polymer comprises residues of one or more monomers selected from acrylonitrile, butyl acrylate, butyl methacrylate, cetyl acrylate, cetyl methacrylate, divinylbenzene, ethyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, ethylstyrene, methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, octyl acrylate, octyl methacrylate, styrene, vinylbenzyl alcohol, vinylformamide, vinylnaphthalene, and vinyltoluene; wherein the polymer's pore structure has a total volume of pore sizes in the range of from 10 Å to 40,000 Å greater than 0.1 cc/g and less than 5.0 cc/g dry polymer; and the biocompatible polymer system has improved biocompatibility by use of (i) a coating selected from a group consisting of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate), poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate), salts of poly(acrylic acid), salts of poly(methacrylic acid), poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl acrylate), poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone), poly(vinyl alcohol), heparin-mimicking polymers and mixtures thereof or (ii) a coating comprising heparin; and wherein the polymer is in the form of a crosslinked polymer or a porous polymer; wherein the crosslinked polymer or porous polymer has been sulfonated under mild conditions that retain residual functionality of any unreacted double bonds and chloromethyl groups.
 2. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein the said toxins and inflammatory mediators have a molecular weight of from less than about 0.5 kDa to about 1,000 kDa.
 3. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein the said toxins and inflammatory mediators have a molecular weight of from less than about 1 kDa to about 1,000 kDa.
 4. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein the polymer is hemocompatible.
 5. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein an agent is used to imbue biocompatibility to the polymer system, said agent being either (i) heparin or (ii) a heparin mimicking polymer.
 6. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein the polymer is formed and subsequently made to be biocompatible.
 7. The biocompatibility imbuing modification of claim 6 wherein an agent used to imbue biocompatibility is either (i) heparin or (ii) a heparin mimicking polymer.
 8. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein the polymer system has the form of a solid support comprising a bead, fiber, monolithic column, film, membrane, or semi-permeable membrane.
 9. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 8 wherein the solid support has a biocompatible hydrogel coating.
 10. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein, the toxins and inflammatory mediators comprise of one or more of cytokines, superantigens, monokines, chemokines, interferons, proteases, enzymes, peptides including bradykinin, soluble CD40 ligand, bioactive lipids, oxidized lipids, cell-free hemoglobin, cell-free myoglobin, DAMPS, growth factors, glycoproteins, prions, toxins, bacterial and viral toxins, PAMPS, endotoxins, drugs, vasoactive substances, foreign antigens, antibodies, and positively charged ions.
 11. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1, wherein the positively charged ion is potassium.
 12. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein said polymer is made using suspension polymerization, emulsion polymerization, bulk polymerization, or precipitation polymerization.
 13. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein said polymer is a hypercrosslinked polymer.
 14. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1, wherein the unreacted double bonds or chloromethyl groups can be modified via free radical or S_(N)2 type chemistry to attach one or more of biocompatible and hemocompatible monomers, cross-linkers or low molecular weight oligomers.
 15. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 wherein the porous polymer comprises sulfonic acid groups or a salt thereof, sulfonyl chloride, or sulfonate ester groups.
 16. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 15, wherein the polymer comprising sulfonic acid groups or a salt thereof, sulfonyl chloride, or sulfonate ester groups is produced by graft copolymerization of (i) premade porous polymer that contains unreacted double bonds with (ii) polymerizable vinyl monomers containing sulfonic acid groups or a salt thereof to form a mixture comprising hemocompatible vinyl monomers.
 17. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1 constructed from polymerizable vinyl monomers containing sulfonic acid groups or a salt thereof which are copolymerized in the presence of cross-linker, hemocompatible monomer, monomer and suitable porogen to yield porous polymeric polymer containing a sulfonic acid salt functionality.
 18. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1, wherein said polymer system is capable of adsorbing (i) a range of protein based toxins having a molecular weight of from about 0.5 kDa to about 1,000 kDa and (ii) positively charged ions.
 19. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1, wherein said polymer system is capable of adsorbing (i) a range of protein based toxins having a molecular weight of from about 1 kDa to about 1,000 kDa and (ii) positively charged ions.
 20. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1, wherein the polymer is housed in a container suitable to retain the polymer and for transfusion of whole blood, packed red blood cells, platelets, albumin, plasma or any combination thereof.
 21. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1, wherein the polymer is in a device suitable to retain the polymer and be incorporated into an extracorporeal circuit.
 22. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1, wherein the crosslinked polymer is a hypercrosslinked polymer.
 23. The biocompatible polymer system of claim 1, wherein the porous polymer is a macroreticular porous polymer.
 24. A biocompatible polymer system comprising at least one polymer, said polymer comprising (i) a plurality of pores and (ii) a sulfonic acid salt functionality; said polymer system capable of adsorbing protein based toxins, inflammatory mediators and positively charged ions; wherein the polymer comprises residues of one or more monomers selected from acrylonitrile, butyl acrylate, butyl methacrylate, cetyl acrylate, cetyl methacrylate, divinylbenzene, ethyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, ethylstyrene, methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, octyl acrylate, octyl methacrylate, styrene, vinylbenzyl alcohol, vinylformamide, vinylnaphthalene, and vinyltoluene; wherein the polymer's pore structure has a total volume of pore sizes in the range of from 10 Å to 40,000 Å greater than 0.1 cc/g and less than 5.0 cc/g dry polymer; and the biocompatible polymer system has improved biocompatibility by use of (i) a coating selected from a group consisting of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate), poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate), salts of poly(acrylic acid), salts of poly(methacrylic acid), poly(diethylaminoethyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate), poly(hydroxypropyl acrylate), poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone), poly(vinyl alcohol), heparin-mimicking polymers and mixtures thereof or (ii) a coating comprising heparin; and wherein the polymer is in the form of a macroreticular porous polymer that has been sulfonated under mild conditions that retain residual functionality of any unreacted double bonds.
 25. A method of perfusion comprising passing a physiologic fluid once through or by way of an extracorporeal circuit through a device comprising the biocompatible polymer system of claim
 1. 26. A device for removing protein based toxins, inflammatory mediators and positively charged ions from physiologic fluid comprising the biocompatible polymer system of claim
 1. 27. The device of claim 26 wherein said toxins and inflammatory mediators have a molecular weight of from about 0.5 kDa to about 1,000 kDa.
 28. The device of claim 26 wherein said toxins and inflammatory mediators have a molecular weight of from about 1 kDa to about 1,000 kDa. 